Love Poison
Pang Linqiu didn't want to say more. "I still have things to take care of. You can go now." She got up, rubbed her forehead, and frowned as she walked out of the room.
Peng Xuan'an sat there in silence for a long time, his heart aching. How had things turned out this way? He didn't understand. He only wanted to be a strong support for her, someone she could trust...
As night deepened, the rustling of crickets added a lively touch to the otherwise bustling night.
Pang Linqiu, exhausted, pushed open the door.
Candles were lit inside, and the night breeze swept in, dancing and swaying with the curtains.
Pang Linqiu didn't think much of it, assuming that Qi Xing had lit the lamp for her. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head. She raised her hand to press the aching spot and slowly walked into the room.
As she was about to hang her coat behind the screen, a pair of hands suddenly wrapped tightly around her waist, and then the person pressed against her back. Peng Xuan'an lowered his head and gently nuzzled her cheek, "Madam..."
Pang Linqiu regained her senses and did not break free from his hand. Instead, she glanced at him sideways and asked, "Aren't you going back to court tomorrow?" She remembered that he had come to see her a few times around this time before riding away.
"Tomorrow is a day off." He buried his head in her neck, like a wronged child wanting a hug.
Pang Linqiu slapped her forehead, only then realizing it was Friday: "Sorry, my memory is a bit bad..."
He took Pang Linqiu's hand, walked to the soft chair, and pulled her into his arms, holding her waist with both hands.
"Madam, do you know why I've arrived so early today?" His deep black eyes met her almond-shaped eyes.
"?" She looked puzzled.
"Your affairs are already known to everyone in the court."
He asked softly, "What was the purpose of setting up Yuanshe?"
"Are you trying to persuade me to abandon this place and return to the capital?" She tried to break free from the restraints around her waist and leave his side.
He had just opened his mouth when he said, "I..."
She interrupted, "So you're going to stand with them and oppose what I'm doing too?"
Peng Xuan'an shook her head, her dark eyes filled with tenderness yet firmness: "No, I won't be like them. I will stand by your side and support you." She gently stroked her face with her fingertips.
Pang Linqiu was flattered and surprised, but calmed down after a moment. "I will take responsibility for my own actions. If His Majesty punishes me, I don't want to involve you. Therefore, I don't need your support."
He felt a chill in his heart. "Zhichun, we've been married for five years. Are you really that worried about entrusting your future to me?"
"I just didn't want to bother you..."
“There’s no such thing as trouble between husband and wife. Trust me, okay?” He took Pang Linqiu’s hand and placed it on his chest, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotions. “Trust me, I will help you. I know your personality; everything you do has its reasons.”
“You used your own money to build the shelter so that the suffering women could have a way to live, so that they could have a chance to survive.”
"..." She appeared calm, but her heart was in turmoil, perhaps moved by the unwavering trust, or perhaps happy that she was finally understood.
"I heard you've established a private academy for girls, is that right?" he asked.
She explained, "I just want to teach them to read and write so they won't be deceived by others' words. I will teach them to distinguish right from wrong and how to walk their future paths." She bit her lip. "You can rest assured, they will not steal your men's fame or official positions."
Peng Xuan'an felt that she had misunderstood something. "That's not what I meant. I heard that there are no teachers in the academy, and you... teach them all by yourself, is that right?"
Pang Linqiu turned her head away, not wanting to show her sadness to him: "Because the courtyard is full of women, and no teacher is willing to teach them, I have to teach them all by myself..."
"You also give them some copper coins every day so they can take them back to their parents, right?"
She continued, "If not, they wouldn't want to send the child to the hospital." Fearing he would think she was wasting money, she argued, "I've only used my own money; I haven't touched a single penny from the household..."
"I know everything." He looked at her tenderly, pulling her into a tight embrace, holding her close as if afraid she would leave. "You've worked so hard."
"..." She was shocked, never expecting him to react this way, and her heart warmed.
“I will submit a memorial to Your Majesty, requesting that you seek justice for the woman.”
"...I..." She came to her senses in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes, "You...aren't you afraid of...incurring His Majesty's wrath?" She remembered that two months ago, when she met with the Emperor alone and brought this up, the Emperor's expression was not pleasant.
Seeing her strong reaction, Peng Xuan'an was quite pleased and smiled, "His Majesty is an enlightened ruler; he will surely understand the meaning behind it."
Pang Linqiu pushed him away and sat beside him, feeling the chances were slim. His Majesty had promised to give him time to consider, but two months had passed, and she had been refused an audience with him. Wasn't the meaning clear? He didn't want women in the land to have power, let alone justice.
"Whatever you want," she said casually.
She suddenly remembered something, looked at him sharply, and frowned: "Peng Xuan'an."
"Um?"
Her expression was grave. "I heard that you...supported the Ninth Prince to become Crown Prince...is that right?"
Peng Xuan nodded guiltily, admitting it.
She smiled dismissively, "He gave you such good things that you lost your composure."
"Now that the position of crown prince is vacant and the king of Tao is getting old, if a successor is not chosen quickly, the country will only fall into chaos."
She then questioned, "Why didn't you support the Sixth Prince and the Third Prince?"
“The Sixth Prince is carefree and will never amount to anything.” He paused, then hesitated, “The Third Prince is… gay… uh… no good.”
"The Ninth Prince is virtuous and talented, often relieving the people's suffering. He is neither arrogant nor spoiled, knows how to be polite to his elders, and is well-versed in literature..."
She stopped Peng Xuan'an: "What did he give you?"
Peng Xuan'an smiled, somewhat embarrassed, "This..."
Pang Linqiu gave him a threatening look, and Peng Xuan'an had no choice but to confess honestly: "He gave me a bug."
"You've been bought off by a single insect?" She looked at him with disdain.
"No, no!" he hurriedly explained, afraid that she would be angry: "It is a kind of Gu worm from Miao territory. I have heard that this worm is very wonderful."
"What kind of insect?"
"Body-Nourishing Gu (Love Gu)" He made up a name for it casually, not wanting to tell her the real name of the Gu.
Pang Linqiu laughed, "You still need to nourish your body?" She looked him up and down, "Are you perhaps injured?" She was somewhat gloating; if that were the case, she could enjoy a life without sex.
“Madam, I never said it was to nourish my body.” His gaze fell on her. “It is you who is weak and needs to be nourished.”
"..." I couldn't laugh anymore.
Peng Xuan'an was actually very hesitant about whether to plant the love potion. He seemed to realize that her love did not belong to him. Five years had passed, and nothing had changed. In all these years, he had not felt a single bit of her love.
Who has made her worry for so long? Who has stolen all her love? He was so angry.
He wanted to implant a love potion in her, so that he could win her love and possess her completely. However, there were side effects to taking this potion; there was a 30% chance he would go insane.
He was afraid. He was afraid she had gone mad, and then he would have nothing left.
The purpose of this deal with the Ninth Prince was to obtain this poison. With his power, supporting him wouldn't be difficult; the problem lies with his competitors.
He thought that rather than risk his lover going insane, it would be better to spend time with her.
The room was silent for a while.
Pang Linqiu dared not look directly at Peng Xuan'an, and called out softly, "Xuan'an..."
"What's wrong?"
Although Pang Linqiu was extremely unwilling, this was also a condition for the divorce: "Let's have a child."
Peng Xuan'an was stunned, feeling a mix of excitement and chaotic emotions. "You...you said...what?" He couldn't be sure what he had heard.
“We’ve been married for several years now, and having a child… would be a good way to give your parents an explanation.”
Peng Xuan'an instantly understood. "Did they... talk about you?"
"You don't need to pay attention to them. I will listen to your thoughts. You can have what you want whenever you want. Don't let them distract you."
"I don't……"
Peng Xuan'an took Pang Linqiu's hand and said, "We're not in a hurry about the child; there's still plenty of time."
“Okay…” Pang Linqiu didn’t say much, only expressed her concern.
A few days later, Peng Xuan'an ordered people to retrieve a lot of data, including information on population growth in the countryside. In his study, under the lamplight, he repeatedly flipped through the documents, collecting information.
After organizing the materials from the past few days, he wrote down the key points in a memorial. Early in the morning, he wore a purple official robe to attend the morning court session, and after the session, he hurriedly went to the imperial study to meet the emperor.
It was rare for the emperor to see Peng Xuan'an take the initiative to report to him, so he looked at him with satisfaction.
"Haha, I wonder what brings you to me, my dear minister?" He was very pleased.
Peng Xuan'an bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask of you."
The emperor became curious. "Oh, what is it?"
"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation."
"Speak freely," he waved his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." He took out the folded document from his clothes. "Your Majesty, I recently inspected the population situation of the Tao Kingdom."
"Um."
"The Kingdom of Tao is now recuperating and has been spared the ravages of war, and its economy is improving. The population in all regions and areas is also gradually increasing, which is a good thing."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, quite pleased with Peng Xuan'an's news, and praised, "Not bad."
"But Your Majesty, among these tens of millions of people, there are more than 100,000 fewer women than men. As a result, many men will not be able to find wives. If this continues, Tao Kingdom will likely suffer from a lack of young men to serve in the army, and the population of Tao Kingdom will gradually decline."
"Oh, my dear minister, do you know the reason?" The emperor nodded thoughtfully.
"My investigations among the people revealed that most newborn girls are abandoned in infant shelters or drown in rivers. A few are given away, but very few survive to adulthood. Even those who do are forced to marry; if they are fortunate, they marry into wealth, but if not, they are unlikely to survive. If they do not rest properly after childbirth, they will likely die from illness..."
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